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respect  ;  but  investors  should  always  remember
that  the  sooner  they  get  into  a  really  sound
investment  position  the  better  it  naturally  is  for
them.
It  frequently  happens  that  investors  delay
the  re-arranging  of  their  investments  because
their  own  investments  have  fallen  in  value  and
they  prefer  to  wait  for  a  recovery  in  prices.  It
is,  of  course,  most  unsatisfactory  to  sell  at  a
loss  ;  yet,  in  many  cases,  the  first  loss  is  the
best.
Waiting  for  a  recovery  in  prices  means
speculating  on  a  future  event.  There  is  really
no  difference  between  a  man  waiting  for  a
stock  to  recover  and  another  buying  this  same
stock  in  a  speculative  way  with  a  view  to  its
rising  in  price.  It  is  from  this  standpoint  that
all  investors  who  are  reluctant  to  face  a  loss
should  consider  the  matter,  and  if  they  are
content  to  speculate  as  to  the  future,  they  can
then  delay  their  reconstruction  of  investment.
There  is,  however,  another  way  in  which
the  contingency  of  selling  at  a  loss  may  be
met.  In  almost  every  Geographical  Division
there  are  some  stocks  to  be  found  which  at
some  time  or  another  have  commanded  higher
prices  than  those  at  which  they  can  be  bought
when  a  reconstruction  is  contemplated.  By
exchanging  the  investments  which  show  a  loss